Chinese New Year Traditions

Can’t believe in less than 24 hours, it would mark the new year of Snake! I was going to be all emotional and sad thinking that this would be the first year Saucer and I celebrate Chinese New Year away from home, but I realized it’s not. The first year of being away during CNY was actually the year we got married. And the new year was celebrated in Maldives during our honeymoon. No complaints about that for sure, but being away on holiday and being away for good are two different things. This year, we will be celebrating CNY probably decorating our house and getting it ready for my parents and family who would be visiting us next week! So, I guess not all is lost. After all, the spirit of CNY is to be together with family and closed ones, is it not?

Speaking of CNY, we can almost never get away from CNY goodies. By goodies, I mean food, really. For me, one of the must-haves during CNY is Yee Sang, or raw fish salad if you must. To be honest, I don’t really love yee sang very much, but I do enjoy the process of mixing it around while chanting wishes and seeing everyone’s happy faces at the same time. The resulting product is not really that important to me, even though it’s a plus if it does taste good. For the past few years, we had had the pleasure of having Yee Sang for at least 5 to 7 days in a row at home. My parents would usually buy the first packet of yee sang for the first day, followed by my aunt and uncle on the second and finally the children take turns on the subsequent days. Of course, this tradition is still in place thanks to my grandparents who never fail to cook up a feast every day during the festival and making sure everyone comes back home to celebrate.

Another delicacy I love during CNY is Nian Gao or Sticky Cake. Believe it or not, I used to hate nian gao when I was young, thinking it smelled funny and was too gooey for my liking. My grandma, knowing that we, the children, didn’t like eating gooey and sticky stuff, improvised by making nian gao fritters. She used to fry them on its own, or sandwiched in between tapioca and taro slices, until they had crispy golden skin. Needless to say, they quickly became a hit and always disappeared faster than she could fry them!

Last but not least, who could forget about the CNY candies and cookies that are always abundant on the cookies tray? I used to have the task of distributing different cookies and sweets on different compartments of the tray, and never failed to steal a piece or two in the process. My favourite, without a doubt, is the peanut candies, which is really peanuts coated with caramel. They’re sweet, but I could go on and on eating them and end up getting a sore throat afterwards but I’d still do it all over again.

After enjoying these CNY goodies, does it make you wonder sometimes, how did they all come about? Why did we have tradition like this and whether they mean anything? Thanks to our elders, age-old Chinese New Year traditions are practised till this day. So let’s help keep them alive.

Comments

Thanks for a heartwarming post that’s making me look forward to spending time with my loved ones this Chinese New Year. Hope you have a wonderful week with Saucer and your parents, Mei Yee, and may the year of the snake be an auspicious one for us all!

At least you have Saucer there. If alone, the feeling will creep in at midnight…when it is dark…and lonely….and you’re thinking of all the fun everyone’s having back home…all the food…the ang paos…the fireworks and firecrackers…. Sobs! Sobs! Sobs!

But that is the choice you made – to leave everything here and make the best of what there is there. All the best in the coming Year of the Snake.

I can’t imagine how it would be without Saucer here! That said, it’s not the first time we spent CNY away from home, since we had our honeymoon during CNY a couple of years back, and it was wonderful. My parents are coming soon so all is not lost! Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family too STP!

On the Star Sunday Metro

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Hailing from the small tropical country of Malaysia, Mei Yee (iamthewitch) has a mission of leaving a mark in people’s heart by giving honest reviews on food, detailed guides on travel plans, and sharing her parenting journey with her newborn Little J. Currently stationed in the beautiful multicultural city of Sydney, Australia, she takes respite from her full-time engineering job by exploring new places to eat and traveling occasionally to neighbouring countries. There’s nothing in the world she loves more than delicious food! And of course, her 2 precious boys. ;) Read More…